Now that the US is run by literal criminals, any moral objection to something here on the grounds that it’s illegal has no weight whatsoever.
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When purchasing isn’t ownership, then piracy isn’t theft.
That’s why it’s legal to carjack rental cars.
If you’re able to make a copy of the car, then sure. Otherwise, no.
As far as music goes, Qobuz is DRM-free.
bandcamp too.
and 7digital which somehow still exists lol
There are probably some teenagers pirating stuff right now who weren’t even alive when this comic was drawn. I’m old.
PSA: Download all your kindle books. Even if you don’t plan on cracking their DRM, you’ll have the option to in the future should you want to.
Though do it before the end of the month! (Edit: the 26th) Amazon is taking that option away
Wednesday the 26th, not the end of the month. If anyone is thinking they’ll get to it later, you have three days from this post
Thanks for catching that
And that’s why Bandcamp exists. No DRM, whatever format you like and you support the artist.
Oh man. One time, at band camp…🐈⬛ 🪈
Yes? Did something happen at band camp?
Let’s hope the new owners won’t destroy it.
Plus prices on there are lower than basically everywhere but amazon, and amazon doesn’t really count because they only give you low quality MP3s
Based xkcd
I have all of his books in physical format. Would recommend.
Small note: iTunes doesn’t have DRM anymore (since 2009)
Apple Music (the subscription) has DRM though, but you should never have a collection on a subscription service, because it can go away at any time
Yes, exactly. The comic was published on October 13, 2008, according to Explain XKCD, that’s probably why iTunes is in it.
Ok, what next?
I’ll give you $5 for it.
xkcd comics are available under a CC-By-NC 2.5 licence, so you’ve successfully pirated by not including attribution (as long as people can’t tell at a glance that it’s xkcd from the art style or comment thread you posted it to), but to seal the deal, it’d be a crime to sell it.
I couldn’t tell at glance this was from xkcd and am willing to testify to a jury, when’s the court date?
First, someone has to email licensing@xkcd.com to tell Randal Munroe that there’s a potential licence violation so he can file a suit.
Whaaaat? This has to go through reporting to count?
Maaaan, pirating things is so complex these days. I long for the days of napster and emule. </s>
For DRM free audiobooks check out Libro.fm.
Support creators though. Especially if the thing you pirate isn’t from a soulless corporation. This is why creators should always have something like a ko-fi or Patreon page. So I can pay them directly if I enjoyed their work.
Dox them and send an envelope with cash.
I buy a ton of XKCD merch for this very purpose. I support others on Patreon, by buying from their advertisers and by buying their audiobooks on Libro.fm or a physical copy.
Amazon and other middlemen add nothing, they simply take a cut off the top. They maintain DRM solely to extract an maximum profits and lock in their customers and sellers. It is extortion and should be illegal.
I tried, but I can’t, since it’s Creative Commons
Technically you can: if you distribute the comic but don’t give the attribution, you are breaking the terms of the license which is just about the closest thing to “pirating” it that you can do.
But “breach of license” is so much more lame than “piracy!”*
*Yes, a lot of piracy is itself breach of license, hush
Last time I bought audiobooks I got them from Downpour which included DRM-free downloads as either MP3 or M4B files, in addition to listening through the website or app. I believe Libro.fm may also offer this. Most of my ebooks are through Kobo and are DRM free as well.
Does depend in some cases on the publisher.
I buy most of my music from Qobuz or Bandcamp. Perfectly DRM-free with lossless compression, and it’s mine forever.
